Combination separator and trap



Nov. l1, 1952 F( M. BoHLER COMBINATIO N sEPARAToR AND TRAPi original Filed June r'7, 1948 Patented Nov. 1l, 1952 COMBINATION SEPARATOR AND TRAP Francis M. Bohler, Long Beach, Calif.

substituted for abandoned application Serial No.

This application December 21, 1951, Serial No. 262,878

(Cl. 18S-42) (Granted under the act of March 3, 1R83, as amended April 30, 1928; 370 O. Gr. 757) 31,417, .Tune 7, 1949.

3 Claims.

The invention described herein may be manufactured and used bv or for the Government of the United States of America for governmental purposes without the payment of any royalties thereon or therefor.

This application is a s"bstitute of Francis M. Bohler annlication Serial Number 31.4l7. filed June '7, 1948. on Combination Separator and Trap, and now abandoned.

My present invention relates to a steam or similar separator, and to a combination separator and trap.

One of the principal obiects of this invention is to provide a device of this class having a novel float for actuating the relief valve, a float which will respond freely to changes of liouid level therein and will not be affected by changes of pressure or fluid flow therein, such as the admission of steam above the float.

Another important obiect of this invention is to provide a float having a large vertical opening at its central portion, one which may be simnly and economically constructed. and one which may be readily and effectively connected to the valve which it controls.

A further important obieft of this invention is to provide a novel and effective arrangement of a relatively large float, ina device of this class, for positively actuating the relief valve in the device.

With these and other obiects in view, as will appear hereinafter, I have devised a separator and trap having certain novel features of construction, combination, and arrangement of parts and portions, as will be hereinafter described in detail, and particularly set forth in the appended claims, reference being had to the accompanying drawings and to the characters of reference thereon, which form a part of this application, in which:

Fig. 1 is a sectional elevational View of a combination separator and trap incorporating my invention in a preferred form;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary sectional elevational View thereof, taken through 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary plan view of the relief valve, with the view taken at 3-3 of Fig. 2; and

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary View of a combination separator and trap, showing a slightly modified form of construction of the float for controlling the relief Valve.

The embodiment of my invention, as shown in the drawings, is in the form of a separator and trap, particularly adapted for separating condensed steam in Asteam systems and condensation in air systems. As shown in the drawings, it is contained in an enclosure I which is cylindrical in a vertical direction and is provides with hemispherical heads Ia and I b at respectively its upper and lower ends. It has a steam inlet lc at one side above the bottom end. and. steam outlet ld in the unner dome end la. A lthird opening le, which is the condensed-steam or water o"tlet. is located in the center of the lower dome end Ib.

The enclosure I of my device has a .manifold or guard 2 at the side. and preferably arranged at the outer side thereof. The inlet I@ is connected to the lower end of the manifold or guard 2. Thel unner end of the manifold or guard is connected through a multiplicity of ports if with thev interior of the enclos-ure.

Over the discharge opening Id is a perforated funnel-shaped separating wall d which is preferably in the form of an inverted cone. This member l facilitates the return of condensation to the interior of the enclosure.

At the bottom of tbe enclosure is a valve B which controls the ow of condensed steam through the discharge onening le. 'This valve. as shown. consists essentially of a valve block 5 having a horizontal bore 5a in which is rotatably mounted a cylinder valve ES having a transverse port 6a. The valve cylinder also has a longitudinal or axial passage 5b which is intercepted bv the transverse port Se. The ends of theaxial passage communicate freely with the interior of the lenclosure and with the liquid or condensation at the lower portion thereof. The valve block 5 has a down- Wardlv extending shank 5b which is externally threaded and .screwed into the discharge opening le. This shank extends below tbe enclosure and provides a pine connection to the lower end of the separator and tran. The Valve block has a vertical passage 5c which extends axially thro'gh the shank 5b. The passage 5c is intercepted by the bore 5n in which the valve cylinder 6 is mounted. and this passage 5c is adapted to be connected by the transverse port 6a in the valve cylinder to the passage 5b.

The ends of the cylindrical portion of the valve cylinder extend beyond the opposite sides of the valve block. and the extended portions are square or polygonally shaped. as indicated by 6C. The valve cylinder is operatively connected by means of arms l and a link 8 to a float 9, one end of the arms i being secured to the polygonal portions at the end of the Valve cylinder.

The float, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, is cylindrical in shape in a vertical direction, the height and diameter of the float being substantially equal. This float has a relatively large vertical opening 9a which is coaxially arranged therein. The outer diameter of the float is only slightly less than the interior of the enclosure and is guided in its vertical movement by the walls thereof. In its lower position, the lower portion of the periphery of the float may rest upon the wall of the hemispherical lower end of the enclosure. Across the bottom portion of the float is a bar I0, this bar extending across the axial portion of the oat. The bar has at its lower side downwardly extending lugs ICIa which are pivotally connected by the link 8 tothe free ends of the arms 1.

On one side of the valve block are provided stop pins I I and I2 to limit the extreme positions of the valve cylinder. The stop pins are engageable by at least one of the arms 1, as shown by dotted lines in Fig. 2, the dotted line positions indicating a closed position of the valve, and the solid line position indicating the beginning of the opening of the valve. Y I

As steam or other fluid under pressure is ad mitted through the opening I c, and particularly when the float rests at its lower portion upon the side walls of the enclosure, such uid under pressure would tend to force or hold the oat downwardly, but the provision of the central opening 9a in the float permits the same freely to rise in response to the liquid level in the enclosure, and thereby permit the valve to be controlled freely by the level of the liquid at the bottom of the enclosure.

The modification of Fig. 4 shows the oat I3 in substantially spherical form, the diameter thereof being substantially the diameter of the interior of the enclosure. This oat also has a large vertical opening I3@ which is coaxial with the spherical float. The bar I4 in this instance is positioned above the bottom of the float and extends preferably across the opening I3a, the same being secured to the walls forming the opening. This construction permits the float to extend to a lower position within the enclosure.

I wish it to be understood that I do not desire to be limited to the exact details of construction shown and described, for obvious modications Will occur to a person skilled in the art.

Iclaim:

1. In a device of the class described, an enclosure having an inlet at its lower portion, an outlet at its upper portion, and a condensation outlet at its lower end, a valve at the lower portion of the enclosure for controlling the condensation outlet, a float Within and substantially coextensive laterally With respect to the enclosure, said float having a large vertical through opening at its middle portion, a perforated funnelshaped separator wall below the outlet, the opening in the oat being arranged to receive the apex of the perforated funnel-shaped wall when the float is raised, and means connecting the float to the valve.

2. In a device of the class described, an upright cylindrical enclosure having an inlet at its lower portion, an outlet at its upper portion, and a condensation outlet at its lower end, a valve at the lower portion of the enclosure for controlling the condensation outlet, a circular iioat within and substantially coextensive laterally with respect to the enclosure, said float having a large vertical through opening coaxially therewith, an inverted conical perforated separating wall carried by the enclosure below the outlet, the opening in the iloat being arranged to receive the apex of the cone when the iioat is raised, and means connecting the iioat to the valve.

3. In -a device of the class described, an enclosure having `an-inlet at its lower portion, an outlet at its upper portion, and a condensation outlet at its lower portion, a cylinder valve at the lower portion of the enclosure for controlling the condensation outlet, the valve having a cylinder rotatable about a horizontal axis, a float within the enclosure, said float having a large vertical through opening at its middle portion, said float having --a transverse bar at the bottom portion across the opening, an arm fixed to the axial portion of one end of the cylinder, and a link connecting the free end of the arm to the middle portion of the bar.

FRANCIS M. BOHLER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 343,690 Barry June 15, 1886 395,185 Simpson Dec. 25, 1888 596,630 Iler Feb. 8, 1898 1,620,771 Lorraine Mar. l5, 1927 1,871,546 McClaiferty Aug, 16, 1932 

